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Butker Boots 69-Yard Preseason Field Goal That Won’t Count, Fuels Rule Debate

The 69-yard make highlights growing kicker range tied to a 2025 change in how teams prepare kicking balls and has led analysts to urge the NFL to review kicking rules and equipment.

Overview

  • In the Chiefs’ preseason game at Raymond James Stadium, Harrison Butker drilled a 69-yard field goal late in the first half that gave Kansas City a 9-0 lead but does not count as an official record because preseason stats are excluded.
  • Butker later missed an extra point and a 43-yard field-goal attempt in the same game, and coach Andy Reid publicly defended him after the performance.
  • Cam Little’s 68-yard regular-season field goal from November 2025 remains the official NFL record because the league does not record preseason statistics.
  • Special-teams coaches and multiple outlets attribute the recent surge in successful 60+ yard attempts to the NFL’s 2025 K-ball procedure that lets teams break in kicking balls before games, and league data show meaningful increases in 60+ makes since that change.
  • Analysts are calling for actions such as narrowing uprights or changing ball-handling rules, but the NFL has not announced any policy changes and any adjustment could alter fourth-down strategy, roster value for kickers, and historical comparability.